Rank the Bond actors

Let's limit this to the Broccoli series – no Barry Nelson or David Niven. I'm asking your opinions of the actors, rather than the films in which they appear. Hence Lazenby ranks last on my list, despite OHMSS being one of the better films of the series.

1. Tie - Connery and Craig. Never thought that the great Scot could be matched but Skyfall confirmed what Casino Royale hinted at - that Craig has made the role his own and completely reinvented the part.

4. Dalton. The prototype for Craig, but lacking DC's way with a one-liner and intensity, also hampered by his films not being as good as Craig's. And frankly, he's not as good an actor as Craig. But let's not forget what a breath of fresh air he was at the time and what a relief it was to see a Bond who looked like he could hold his own in a fight - the first in a decade and a half, in 1987.

5 & 6. Tie between Lazenby and Moore. If I had my druthers, in an ideal world, George would have carried on in the role into the mid-1980s. He'd only have been in his mid/late 40s then, not an awful lot older than Dalton. For all the criticism of his acting, he could hold his own physically, looked more comfortable in a love scene than Dalton ever did and he knocks the final scene out of the park. I think much of the flak he got at the time was due to him opting to play James Bond and not simply recreating Sean Connery. I think he would have gotten better and better in the role.

But - he didn't. One movie is his lot and ultimately, I don't think it's fair to put him ahead of Rog on that basis. I'm no fan of the humour Moore brought to the role but in fairness, the series was clearly already headed that way with Diamonds Are Forever. And it was just symptomatic of 70s movie sensibilities as oppose to those of the 1960s - in the 1960s, curt macho actors like Connery and Steve McQueen were in vogue, in the 1970s, it was smart alecs like Burt Reynolds and Moore. He outstayed his welcome by at least 2 movies but in Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me and even bits of For Your Eyes Only, he's very watchable. So I give him equal billing with Lazenby.

Let's limit this to the Broccoli series – no Barry Nelson or David Niven. I'm asking your opinions of the actors, rather than the films in which they appear. Hence Lazenby ranks last on my list, despite OHMSS being one of the better films of the series.

Let's limit this to the Broccoli series – no Barry Nelson or David Niven. I'm asking your opinions of the actors, rather than the films in which they appear. Hence Lazenby ranks last on my list, despite OHMSS being one of the better films of the series.

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As Bond

1- Connery/Craig tie
2- Brosnan
3- Moore
4- Dalton
5- Lazenby

As actors in general

1- Connery
2- Craig/Dalton tie
3- Moore
4- Brosnan
5- Lazenby

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I like this approach.

1. Connery
2. Craig
3. Brosnan
4. Dalton
5. Moore (I actually like Roger Moore as James Bond, but I freely admit he was in some of the stupidest movies in the series)
6. Lazenby

Craig is a good actor and the movies are well made, but I don't feel like the last three movies were really James Bond. He's too dour and serious and grim. Bond is supposed to be suave and dashing and funny.

Craig is a good actor and the movies are well made, but I don't feel like the last three movies were really James Bond. He's too dour and serious and grim. Bond is supposed to be suave and dashing and funny.

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There are hints of it here and there, but overall I agree. I haven't seen Skyfall yet, but there is a definite lack of opportunities for his Bond to enjoy himself thus far. We may enjoy watching his adventures and his action and whatnot, but he never seems to be having a good time and it brings the character down.

For me the top two are Connery and Brosnan, Craig and Dalton would stand a bit above Moore and Lazenby in my book.

Craig is a good actor and the movies are well made, but I don't feel like the last three movies were really James Bond. He's too dour and serious and grim. Bond is supposed to be suave and dashing and funny.

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He only became that in the 70s, because Moore made him that in the public eye.

Connery's Bond always seemed to be having a good time until the final act when things got serious. It wasn't just a result of the more light-hearted Moore-era scripts. It is that sort of casual confidence in knowing you have a few aces up your sleeve, and it let him enjoy the job rather than be consumed by it like Craig's portrayal so often is.